1. Field
The invention relates to an uplink communication method in a GSM/EDGE telecommunications system, a GSM/EDGE telecommunications system, a mobile station of a GSM/EDGE telecommunications system, a network element of a GSM/EDGE telecommunications system, and a computer program.
2. Description of the Related Art
The GSM/EDGE (Global System of Mobile communications/Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution) technology has shown a great potential for increasing the data transfer capacity in wireless telecommunication. Several methods, such as multi-antenna and multi-carrier techniques have been suggested to improve the performance of GSM/EDGE systems.
Tools for improving the data transfer capacity in the uplink direction are severely limited when compared to those of the downlink direction. The multi-antenna and multi-carrier techniques increase the complexity of mobile stations, which increases the costs and physical dimensions of a mobile station. Consequently, the use of multi-antenna and multi-carrier techniques is typically restricted to downlink transmission, where the size of antenna arrangements and complexity do not pose a critical issue.
Therefore, it is useful to consider alternative techniques to improve the performance of GSM/EDGE systems in the uplink direction.